2 SLO County CSDs can continue water talks — but divided vote could spell trouble
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- San Simeon board OKs continued talks/data gathering on possible alliance with Cambria.
- Officials to consider Cambria piping or hauling brine to San Simeon outfall as an option.
- Full agreement would need approvals from multiple agencies and votes by both CSD boards.
Data gathering can continue about a possible alliance between the Cambria and San Simeon services district boards after a narrow vote Thursday night by the latter’s directors.
That option was part of a Feb. 26 county Planning Commission hearing on issuing a coastal development permit to Cambria Community Services District’s stalled water reclamation plant. The commissioners unanimously approved the permit, but their decision is likely to be appealed.
One concept being considered, Cambria CSD’s GM Matt McElhenie said at both meetings, would be having treated brine created by the reclamation process hauled or piped to the San Simeon Community Services District’s existing ocean outfall.
Cambria’s current option, hauling it to a South County disposal site, is cost prohibitive for extended plant operation, he said. Funding for the other options also would have to be found.
San Simeon’s district has been trying to disband for some time, in part due to the cost of requirements put on it by the state Coastal Commission, including the very expensive and difficult task of moving the CSD’s wastewater treatment plant further from the ocean.
The county is studying that proposal.
Another part of the possible link between the two CSDs could be pipelines, one carrying Cambria’s brine to the outfall and another taking San Simeon’s wastewater to the Cambria plant on Heath Lane, which is on a hill that’s a bit further from the ocean.
While that option would be very expensive, grants may be available to help with the costs, the GM said in February.
Before any such partnership could happen between the two CSDs, their boards of directors and a wide range of governmental agencies, from the Coastal Commission and county to state water regulators, would have to approve them.
Casual, information-sharing meetings between representatives of those and other agencies already have been happening.
Cambria’s CSD board previously had authorized their staff to pursue alternative brine-disposal options, and Thursday’s vote put San Simeon CSD’s stamp of approval on continuing those talks.
That night’s vote split of 2-1 could signal future problems for the proposal, however.
Vice Chair Karina Tiwana and director Holly Le voted in favor of continuing talks while director Michael Donahue voted against, saying it’s too early to have talks like that, with the county still studying dissolution.
San Simeon’s counsel said authorizing any such agreement would require a 3-0 vote, which would constitute a normal majority for the usually five-member board that’s been short two directors for some time.
